Her Three Entrepreneurs [The Hot Millionaires #8] by Zara Chase

shrugged. “The club started to slide because it wasn’t keeping up with the competition. We could see that, but the owners wouldn’t listen. None of us are losers and we didn’t want to be associated with a failing proposition. So, we pooled our resources, found a property that could be developed into the sort of thing we wanted to manage, and persuaded a bank to give us a start-up loan.”
    Athena grunted. “Just like that.”
    “I make it sound easier than it actually was, but this was before the credit crunch, and banks were still lending on just about anything.”
    “And now you’re hoping to do the same thing on this side of the pond?”
    Her glass was empty. Bay picked up the bottle to offer her a refill and then changed his mind. She’d drunk that first one like it was soda. She didn’t need a hangover to add to her worries.
    “Yes please,” she said, holding out her glass.
    “You sure?”
    “I’m not sure about anything anymore.” She shrugged, causing her taut nipples to ride up against the fabric of her T-shirt. Bay suppressed a groan. “I guess it helps to dull the pain and stops me thinking. That’s my problem, you see, I think too much about absolutely everything.”
    Bay poured half the amount he’d given her before. “There you go,” he said.
    “Don’t be so stingy.” She continued to hold her glass out. “It’s not yours to ration.”
    He smiled and added a little more. “Go easy with that stuff. You’ll regret it in the morning.”
    Bay immediately wished the words back. It made it sound as though he was propositioning her.
    “What will I regret?” she asked, eyeing him flirtatiously over the rim of her glass.
    “You’re upset,” he said, “and you didn’t eat much. The liquor will go straight to your head.”
    “Oh, that.” She took a large gulp, half emptying her glass. “It was your idea, remember?”
    “Not one of my better ones,” he admitted, still sipping his first drink. “You ready to go back to bed now? It’s kinda late.”
    “No, but don’t let me stop you.”
    “I couldn’t sleep much either.”
    She drained her glass again and then merely held his gaze. He would have to be blind not to interpret her expression as the invitation that it was. But was it the booze talking, or was it what she’d really wanted all along and the alcohol had given her the courage to go after it? He stared right back at her, caressing her with his eyes. Desire tightened his gut, intensifying as they continued to drown in one another’s eyes. Never had he wanted a woman more.
    But he couldn’t have her. It was as simple as that.
    “Not a good idea,” he said softly.
    “It’s a lousy idea,” she said, standing up.
    He stood as well, powerless to help himself, and took her hand in his. “Like I said, you’ll regret it in the morning,”
    “Perhaps we’ll help each other to sleep,” she said breathlessly.
    Bay barked a laugh. “That I very much doubt.”
    “What are you so afraid of?”
    “Hurting you,” he said with transparent honesty.
    “You’ll only do that if you turn me down.”
    That decided him. He could see uncertainty in her eyes, presumably because she thought he didn’t want her. He couldn’t allow that supposition to continue and so headed for the stairs. They weren’t wide enough for them to walk up side by side so he scooped her into his arms and carried her straight up to his room. Better his than hers, that way she wouldn’t feel hers had been tarnished if she did regret it in the morning.
    He deposited her gently on his bed, leaned over her and kissed her almost chastely, just as he’d been longing to do since he first set eyes on her. Not here at the farm but on the television, when she’d been ranting against him and the guys, branding them as the baddies.
    “You sure about this?” he asked.
    “Don’t you dare wimp out on me now!”
    Bay chuckled. “Just checking, but if we’re gonna do it, there’s one thing you ought to know